Casualty: Connie One Shots
by Sofia-Casualty
Summary: A collection of One Shot fics centred on Connie Beauchamp.
1. Adore

**Adore**

Sitting alone in her office, she couldn't quite comprehend her own feelings anymore. No doubt about it, her mind and body had been through immense trauma over the last few months and now she found herself even more alienated and outcasted at work. All the years she spent pushing everyone away and isolating herself the way in which she liked to remain. But now? She found herself wanting, _needing, _the exact opposite. For too long she'd been fighting her battles alone. Did needing company make her weak? She asked herself this daily, wondering why exactly she lived such a solitary existence but it always boiled down to the fact that each and every time she'd ever relied on anyone, they had always let her down. Hurt her. Broke her heart. Why put herself though any of that pain when she could actively avoid it by keeping herself at arms length from everyone?

She huffed irately, resting her elbows on her desktop. It was moments like these where she had to force her brain to refer back to her recovery steps. Any kind of triggering or slightly overwhelming situation took it's toll on her, there was no intense urge to turn back to benzodiazapenes but the risk was always there and she wasn't about to head back down that dark and terrifying road again. She licked her lips and exhaled steadily but her attention was soon snatched in the direction of her office window, watching Archie closely as she made her way back to the nurses station. She'd obviously finished her close and chummy chat with Megan. It was that sight alone that had sent her into her office. There was a deeply unsettled feeling about it. She was so desperately hell-bent on winning back Archie's trust and respect yet it was being taken away from her slowly but surely. She couldn't fathom the awful feeling it gave her, right in the pit of her stomach, almost as if somebody had punched her hard in the gut. She'd _never _met another medical professional who didn't marvel at her abilities. There were _plenty _of people who disliked her of course but they couldn't argue that she was an extremely talented woman. Archie, however, had completely lost that way of thinking towards her. And she couldn't handle it.

"Mrs Beauchamp?" Her voice shouldn't have stunned her but it did.

"Dr Hudson." She responded dryly, shuffling papers as she tried to appear as though she was busy at work. "Did you need something?"

"Yes, actually." She clasped her hands together in front of her before stepping further into the room, closing the door behind her. "Megan's asked-"

"Ah, here we go." She scoffed with a raised brow.

"Sorry?"

"What has she asked you to be a part of this time? Some ground-breaking, pioneering surgery in a sunny country with more than it's fair share of perks?"

"No..." She trailed off, confused at the the temper she was being greeted with. "She's just asked if I want to observe her in theatre a few times this week."

"Look, Dr Hudson, don't take this the wrong way." She stood up, returning her stethoscope around her neck as she made her way around the desk slowly. "But if you want to skip along watching this woman-"

"Her name is Megan-"

"Yes, thank you, I _know _who she is." Spitting venomously, she halted in her tracks as their eyes remained locked in silence. "I just don't understand how you could pass up hands-on experience in the ED in exchange for observing such a dull procedure-"

"_Dull precedure?_" She questioned back at her, the expression on her face matching her utterly shocked tone of voice. "She's one of the most _talented _surgeons I've ever had the pleasure of working with-"

"And I was one of the _best _Cardiothoracic Surgeons in _Europe-"_

_"_Yes, and not to be rude but the key word in that sentence being _was_." She blinked coolly. "You _were_ one of the best heart surgeons once upon a time, and I truly admire you for that especially in such a male dominated area but you're not that person anymore, are you? I missed out on the opportunity to work with _that _Connie Beauchamp." Despite the cruel yet honest words, her voice remained extremely soft and gentle. Her large brown eyes flickering over her superior's own glassy eyes. "You know, I haven't seen you so much as insert a chest drain during my time here. And to think, I was _so, so _excited to be working with _the _Connie Beauchamp but you've dulled in comparison to the image I had in my head, you know?" She looked down sadly, the disappointment dripping off of every word she spoke.

"Right." Connie finally mustered one word, her whole body trying it hardest to fight off her emotions. "Well, I'm sorry you feel that way, I really do. If observing Megan really does mean that much to you then by all means, go ahead." She cleared her throat upon quickly spitting her cold words out. "Now, if you excuse me I have a lot of work to do." She motioned to the door, silently telling the young Doctor to leave. And she did so in a defeated and deflated manner.

Things only became icier and more strained between them over the next couple of days. Archie's words echoed around Connie's brain night and day, obviously people change over time, this was inevitable but she'd endured traumas some people couldn't even imagine dealing with. Trauma and pain have a way of altering a person's behaviour, and that couldn't be helped but a part of her kept going back to the fact that she wasn't the same Connie she was ten years ago. Her bravado had gone, that spark she had was no longer burning. Talents couldn't be lost though. She knew it was all still buried within her, it was just a case of finding it again. She had the help of the internet for that. Some of her very own pioneering surgery was available to view via youtube of all places, one of which included the twelve plus hour surgery she participated in to separate conjoined twins. She was a force to be reckoned with, watching herself in action was something she'd never actually done before and it was honestly giving her a thrill.

"Ah, nice." The impressed voice floating over her shoulder disturbed her viewing, the smile quickly disappeared from her mouth. "That was the conjoined twins case from a few years ago wasn't it?" Will continued speaking, despite Connie having shut the screen down and moved over to the patient notes located to the left of the nurses station compute she'd been using. "And you were part of the team the helped separate them?"

"Yes." She breathed. "Yes, I was but uh, that was a long time ago."

"Could've be ten, twenty, fifty, hell even a hundred years ago and it'd still be pretty bloody impressive."

"It was a big team." She smiled briefly. "The general surgeons had the biggest task at hand."

"What I would have done to be a fly on the wall during _that _procedure." His gaze drifted off slightly, almost as though he was imagining himself viewing it firsthand.

"You and so many others, Dr Noble." She smiled genuinely at his awe-stricken behaviour. "Perhaps once you've finished daydreaming, you can get back to work, hm?" Sauntering away she smirked to herself, she wanted _that _Connie back too and she'd stop at nothing until she did.

* * *

"Wait, you're _scrubbing in _with Connie?" Archie questioned disbelievingly as she followed Will down the corridor towards the staff room. He'd just arrogantly announced the big news to her as soon as she'd walked into work. The look of excitement in tell her was there for one of two reason, the first being that he got to wave it in her face like this and the second being that he'd only just been marvelling at Connie's work not two days ago and all of a sudden she was jumping back into theatre with him on a leash close behind her.

"I know, can you believe it?" He had an excited bounce in his step. "I'm still in shock about the whole thing if I'm being really honest with you." Shaking his head in a daze, he smiled and pulled his locker open. "Apparently Jac Naylor will be operating as well, not to mention a few other hot-shots."

"But you won't get to assist though, you're just there to observe-"

"Nope, not what Mrs B says." He interrupted with a smirk and slammed his locker shut again with an excited look on his face. "She said I'd be observing _and _assisting during the procedure."

"But she's not even in practise as a Cardio-thoracic surgeon anymore." She blinked with a look of pure confusion on her face.

"Says who?" Jerking his head with a small laugh he couldn't help but feel a teensy little bit bad this opportunity wasn't offered to his feisty friend when she was so eagerly chomping at the bit to further her medical career. "Just because she's Clinical Lead of the Emergency Department doesn't mean she doesn't keep up to date with renewing her licenses. She can still operate and she regularly has credentials reviewed and updated you know?" There was silence following his sentence, causing him to open his mouth again. "Look, don't feel bad." Placing his hand on her should her squeezed it comfortingly. "I'm sure she was just under the impression you were too tied up with observing Megan, otherwise she probably would have asked you instead."

"Nah, I don't think so." She shook her head as her mind clicked, a knowing yet false smile appearing on her face. "This wouldn't even be happening if it wasn't for Megan."

"What?"

"Nothing." She quickly ended the line of questioning, finally giving him a fairly forced grin. "Nothing, good luck with this afternoon yeah? You can tell me all about it over a drink later."

"Um, yeah, sure." His brow twitched slightly at her odd behaviour. "I can't say no to a pint...or three, I'll catch you later."

* * *

Watching them return to the Emergency Department, it took all of her might not to lose her cool for fear of looking like the jealous colleague. Will looked positively buzzed about the whole situation, I mean, who wouldn't? He'd just been _assisting _in theatre up on the Darwin ward. Her eyes fluttered from his ecstatic ridden body and landed on Connie's svelte figure, their eyes locked immediately. It's like she'd stepped out of the lift and gone to great length to locate where she was stood in order to catch her attention. The eye contact was frosty to say the least, Connie's gaze held a sort of smug glint whilst Archie's reflected nothing back in return. She wasn't about to give her the satisfaction of appearing to look envious. All of this was for her benefit, she was spending a lot of time with Megan and Connie was obviously not enjoying it for the plain and simple reason that she couldn't hack being overlooked in the the department of talent and abilities. Thus, her not-so-inconspicuous plan was a flop. Regardless, she offered Will a pleasant smile as he passed her, Rash was walking along side him almost like a groupie. He was lapping up every detail cascading out of Will's mouth as he continued to run through his experience upstairs. They surpassed her, entering the staff room and in turn forcing her to look to Connie but she was gone, she glanced in the direction of her office and saw the back of her disappearing through the doorway. She took a moment, standing still on the spot in front of the computer before she threw all caution to the wind and made a move for the Queen's lair. She was stood at the door within seconds, unusually it was left open. There was a small smile on Connie's face as she sat herself down at her desk, she'd already foreseen that Archie would approach, and here she was, right on cue.

"Dr Hudson." She smiled, her pearly pink lipstick accentuating the pink hued tones in her blouse. Her light brown hair framing her slightly freckled face beautifully but it was the piercing green eyes that got Archie first, and then the small smile that slowly spread across her face. "I trust you've heard about-"

"About Will assisting you? Yeah, he mentioned it this morning." Beating her to the chase she made herself appear completely unbothered by the Clinical Lead's calculating actions.

"I hope you don't mind, I just figured with how busy you've been with Megan you probably wouldn't have accepted the offer had it come to you first."

"No." She spoke with a high-pitched tone, as if trying to force this belief on her superior. "No, not at all. You were right to have asked him, you know, I'm quite tied up with Megan at the moment like you said." She smiled back at her in a sickly-sweet fashion. Before another word could be uttered, their sugar-coated exchange was interrupted suddenly by David.

"Apologies, Mrs Beauchamp, Dr Hudson." He nodded at each of them respectively. "We need someone in resus, it's quite urgent."

"Of course." Archie responded with a smug smile, her eyes never once leaving Connie's. It was entirely worth it, just to see the angry look on her face upon realising her cunning little plan hadn't quite had it's intended outcome. Archie was un-reactive, she wasn't playing into her little puppet show and this only further angered Connie. As soon as they left her office she slumped into her desk chair frustratedly. Part of her just wanted to accept the fact that Archie just didn't appreciate her anymore but the other part of her wanted to keep on pushing and pushing until the younger woman finally respected and admired her again. Perhaps it really was too late? Perhaps she'd witnessed too much of her darkness to be able to see the magnificence in her again?

Back out in resus, Archie was hot on David's tail as she progressed into the sterile and high pressure work area. To her surprise, Megan was beyond the doors. She was deep in conversation with Will, and he was _still _raving about his experience upstairs.

"It was just such an amazing thing to see, you know?" He smiled, shaking his head still not quite believing what he'd witnessed in theatre.

"Megan." Archie smiled, approaching the conversation quickly. "I didn't know you were in today?"

"Yes, just briefly stopping by." She turned her attention from Will and back to Archie. "Quite impressive isn't it?" She motioned to Will, obviously referring to his _exciting _news.

"Uh, yeah, it's great." Rubbing the back of her head, she did well to swallow her pride. "Sounds like he had quite the experience up there."

"Yes, well, count yourself lucky." She looked up at the Irish male again. "It's not every day Mrs Beauchamp invites someone to assist her, you must have really impressed her."

"I'd like to think so!" He laughed, oblivious to Archie's eye-roll. "Thank you, and, you know I hear Archie's doing really well with you at the moment too?" Trying not to let the compliments get to his head, he switched the attention back on to Archie, not wishing to be _that _boastful and big-headed junior.

"Yes, absolutely!" Megan looked to Archie who smiled in return, not one to particularly enjoy being focussed on so intensely. "I just hope I'm not boring her, especially not now you've had the Beauchamp experience and you'll most likely be swapping stories!" Archie's smile faded gently, a knife in the gut. This time it was metaphorical.

"Um, sorry, I hate to interrupt. _Aga__in _but, like I mentioned, this patient is really urgently needing some medical attention." David's usually mild-mannered behaviour was replaced with an irate forcefulness, aggravated that he'd had to ask twice for some assistance.

"Will." Megan addressed him boldly. "Go ahead, let me see you in action. Let's see what's got Connie so impressed."

"Well, yeah, of course." His face was absolutely shell-shocked, one theatre slot with Connie Beauchamp and he felt like his hospital credit and reputation had more than doubled. He gave Archie a sort of _oh my god, look at this _kind of glance and proceeded to carry out his duties, Megan watching closely behind him. Now Archie really was feeling envious.

* * *

For the rest of the afternoon Archie had to listen to him banging on and on and on about his procedure on Darwin. Each time he told another pretty nurse, the story changed ever so slightly. Slowly but surely exaggerating his excellence. By the end of their shift, Archie could hardly bear to hear another word from his Irish mouth. Slamming their lockers shut in synchronisation, he exhaled loudly.

"What a _day, _Archibald! I am _gagging _for a drink, whattya say?"

"Nah, thanks, not for me. I've got a stack of cleaning to do when I get home." Her polite and quiet declination didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.

"Right, suit yourself then Cinderella. There'll be a bunch of us at the pub if you change your mind later on, but I must warn you." He smiled, leaning in towards her slowly. "I _am _a bit of a celebrity tonight so no doubt I'll be dripping in girls."

"In your wildest dreams." Cracking a smile, she shook her head at his foolishness.

"You know, seeing Connie strutting her stuff today really had me feeling a certain type of way about her. Like, it was really, _really sexy._" He bit his lip, inviting her to frown at him. "Do you reckon she'd knock me back if I asked her out for a drink?"

"Definitely. You won't stand a chance, so just do yourself a favour and save yourself the embarrassment, yeah?"

"What would you know?" His mischievous grin didn't alter her expression at all. "You didn't see us working together, it was like pure chemistry." She could tell he was joking but he was really riling her up, a nasty feeling brewing in her chest.

"Just leave it, she never accepts invites to the pub-"

"She's never been asked by me." Raising his brows, he edged around her and headed for the door. Her whole body tensed, her throat hitching aggressively in her neck.

"Will-" She called out after him but he continued on out of the doorway, making a bee-line for Connie's office. She stood still with bated breath, studying the scene before her as he entered the small room. She could feel and hear her own heart beating in her ears, that awful whooshing sound. Her jaw became slack when she saw him retreating, it looked like things had gone sourly and for a split second her whole body relaxed with relief. It was a strange feeling that she really couldn't describe. Why did it bother her so much if Connie did accept his sleazy invite? Her heart rate hadn't even had chance to slow before it increased in speed again upon seeing Connie following close behind him, fastening her coat and throwing her bag over shoulder as she started locking her office door behind them. She'd said _yes_? Why? Why would she do that? Her legs acted without instruction, taking her over to them as she blurted out her next sentence, surprising herself as much as she did them.

"Mrs Beauchamp, can I have a word?"

"It can't wait 'til tomorrow?" Will intercepted, not wanting his drink plans to be scuppered, in doing so he annoyed both Archie and Connie in the process. The looks her received from both of them told him all he needed to know. "Alright, understood." He held his hands up in surrender. "Right, well I'll go ahead and get you a drink in. See you in a minute." He folded his lips and separated from them. The prickly silence only seemed to intensify by the second until Connie re-opened her office door with an irate eye-roll and marched inside, with no invitation for Archie to follow. Regardless, she did so, slowly closing the door behind herself.

"What is this?" She asked abruptly, referring to more than one thing in particular. She was met with silence from Connie, forcing her to expand on her question after a few seconds and a clueless shrug from the higher-ranking woman. "This _game _that you're playing, what is it about?"

"I'm not playing games, Dr Hudson-"

"With all due respect, Connie, you certainly are." There was an anger to her voice, catching Connie's attention immediately as she sat her bag back down on top of her desk before leaning herself lightly on the large piece of wooden furniture. "Ever since Megan came along you've done nothing but try to keep me from seeing her, boycotting any chance I get to learn from her. Why?" She shook her head, her face twisting with utter confusion.

"Look, I really don't have time for this." She brushed her off quickly, losing her temper.

"I'm sorry for what I said to you the other day, I really am." Her words were loud but significantly softer now, swiftly realising that losing her temper would get her absolutely nowhere with Connie. So instead, she opted for an apology so that they could hopefully lay this silent battle to rest and just get on with their lives. "I don't think you have any idea what it's like to have looked up to someone and _adored_ someone for so long only to witness them firsthand during their downfall when you finally get the chance to work with them. It's like every kid's dream to meet Batman or Superman but imagine the disappointment if they could see it's just a regular man in a suit, it'd crush them. That day in the Pharmacy, when I got stabbed, that was the day I saw you at your lowest and it broke me inside." Her velvety voice had a way of being so calm and soothing even whilst breaking the most upsetting news. Connie's body language changed immediately, her posture slumped with defeat. There was something about Archie, an air or grace that just made Connie feel safe. It was an indescribable feeling, she was not at all like Charlie or Elliot, her previous confidants. Archie was different and she couldn't fathom it or explain it.

"It's all good and well saying that, Dr Hudson." She croaked, her face displaying the upset clearly. "But _you _don't know what it's like to completely lose yourself, to know what's happening yet you can't do anything to stop it. I used to be brave, I used to be strong." She nodded tearfully, causing Archie's face to drop with sheer regret as she moved closer to her, not knowing exactly how to comfort her now that she'd almost reduced the normally stoic woman to tears. "I thought I could deal with anything but these last couple of years have really _belted_ me." She let out a humour-lacking laugh following her whispered words, quickly standing upright again and wiping at her tears. "And I have tried my hardest to become that woman again for you, to prove to you that I am trustworthy but the harder I try to reach her, the farther away she seems to get." The silence cascaded across the room as Archie stood at a loss for words, not knowing what was the right thing to say. "Anyway, I tried but the games stop now." She sniffled, still avoiding the younger female's gaze. "I know you look up to Megan a great deal and I won't interfere with any other opportunities she has for you. After all, you've made it quite clear I'm not someone you could admire and look up to anymore."

"Right, well, thank you. I'd appreciate that." She answered softly and sweetly, a grateful smile rippling across her face as Connie nodded emotionally.

"Have a nice night, Dr Hudson. If you're not headed to the pub then I'll see you tomorrow." Grabbing her bag, she made a move for the door defeatedly but Archie's rapid heartbeat had returned, the intense feeling of possessiveness washing over her like a hot and fiery wave.

"Don't." Her arm darted out, halting Connie from reaching the door. "Don't have a drink with him, he's only after one thing."

"And _with all due respect _to you, Dr Hudson, I'm a grown woman, I think I can handle myself." She scoffed, still sounding quite emotional. Regardless, she pushed her arm down gently and continued on, opening the door only to have Archie slam it shut again. The sudden movement shocked her, forcing her to glance at the brown-eyed beauty in disbelief.

"Don't. I don't want you to." The closed spaced around them seemed to get heavy with tension, draining all air out of the room and suffocation the noise to a complete halt. Standing close to one another, Archie eyes remained glued to Connie's. She looked confused, her body rigid with a lack of knowing what to do. Instinctively, she took a step back when Archie stepped forward, their breath becoming faster as the uneasiness grew between them. She was picking up all of the signals, she just didn't know if she was misreading them. She wasn't. This became extremely clear when Archie stepped forward again, her eyebrows knitted together in the middle with her own confused feelings. And then, just like that, their lips were connected before another breath could be panted. Both of their hands moving instantly to one another's faces and securing the lip-lock. Connie's bag had fallen to the floor immediately, her palms now too busy caressing Archie's jawline, her fingers wrapping around the back of her neck sensually as their tongues battled on another in a slightly harmonious manner. It started off as a slow and steady kiss but with each passing moment they got more and more wrapped up in the lustful feeling. This wasn't a spur of the moment connection, this had been brewing for weeks upon weeks, masked as an array of other baffling feelings.

But this felt _right._


	2. Fever

**Ok, this one-shot is set in early 'Holby City' days, before any kind of Connie/Sam pairing. I hope you enjoy. XX**

**Fever**

"You don't think I've already tried that?" He hissed angrily, the sweat on his forehead increasing with each passing minute.

"Well then, maybe you're just not trying hard enough?" Staring at the back of his head in a hostile manner, she was desperate for him to turn around and bite back and then, right on cue, he did.

"I'm sorry." He scoffed humourlessly. "What exactly do you want me to do? Hm? Whip out a can of spinach, turn in to Popeye and pry the doors open with my bare hands?" He paused for only a fraction of a second, not allowing her to respond to his fury-riddled and rhetoric question. "The door is _stuck, _Connie." Their eyes stared at one another, the vexation visible in both of their expressions before he surrendered first. Looking away whilst shaking his head, he used his forearm to wipe the sweat from his brow before rolling his sleeves up. It was an extremely warm Summer's day and they'd been trapped in the large hospital lift for fifty minutes now. For extra effect, the heating was busted and powering out what felt like heat directly from the sun into the windowless space. To make this nightmarish situation even _more_ enjoyable, the lights were turning off and on again intermittently which, after a prolonged period of time, Connie was sure would give her a headache. That is if Sam didn't cause her one first. "Try your phone." He spoke sternly, inviting her to stare at him with a venomous look, her arms crossed tightly over her cream shirt.

"It's in my office, you try yours." She snarled.

"It's in my locker." He breathed, not quite believing this was happening. "For God's sake." He panted, looking down for a split second. "Do you think anyone knows we're trapped in here?"

"We're due in theatre in a couple of hours, if we're _lucky_ somebody might notice we're missing by then." She spoke sharply whilst angrily eyeing him up before swiping at her own forehead gently. "Try the help button again." Doing her best to keep calm, she propped her hands on her hips.

"Yeah, because I've only tried it seven times already." His sarcasm was rubbing her the wrong way today, he'd been back-chatty and more obnoxious than usual and it was _really _getting on her nerves. He could feel her eyes burning a hole into the back of his head whilst he pressed the button repeatedly, turning to face her with a smug look when nobody answered any of the fifteen or so times he pressed it. He stopped quickly in a fit of anger before undoing his tie and popping the top three buttons of his shirt open. The underarms of his shirt were darkening with perspiration and his back was beginning to form a soaked v-shape between his shoulder blades. Connie wasn't looking so cool either, her facial features starting to glisten with the warmth and the small area of skin visible above her cleavage was tacky with sweat too. The only advantage she had was that she was wearing a pencil skirt and at least her legs were partially uncovered.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait then." Her words were spoken in a seething manner, hot and aggravated.

"You don't say."

"Just what exactly is your problem today? Hm?" Her eyes narrowed as her temper flared suddenly. "You've been acting like a disgruntled teenager all morning. Drop the attitude, it's not a good look on you."

"I'm roasting, my lungs feel like they're on fire and my shirt is wet through with _sweat._" He listed off his current issues one by one and at a slow yet angered speed. "So _forgive _me if I seem a little tense-"

"I think you're forgetting we're both stuck in the same predicament here, because I can assure you, this _certainly _isn't my idea of a good time either." She snapped back ferociously, reminding exactly how much she resembled a harassed Rottweiler sometimes. Next to her, he was merely a grumpy labrador puppy. Definitely no match at all. He couldn't retaliate, partially because he was too hot to think straight and partially because she was actually right. This wasn't ideal for either of them and until somebody came to their aid, they were stuck here sweating it out together. Her face slowly relaxed back to it's natural resting expression whilst she continued to study him, he was looking quite bothered to say the least, glancing at his watch irritably. She couldn't help but open her mouth again. "Somewhere else you needed to be, Mr Strachan?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact." He huffed, turning to look at her nonchalent expression. "I was supposed to be meeting someone for lunch."

"Ah well." She sighed sarcastically whilst moving to lean her back against the rear wall of the lift. The lights had finally stilled, illuminating their dewy skin. "It's a pity for everyone involved really, I'm stuck in here with you and I presume somewhere out there, an attractive young blonde is missing out on your incredible charm."

"It's serious, actually." He defended against her notion that he was scheduled to meet up with a potential one-nigh stand. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Who is it?" Her blunt and borderline playful question caught him off-guard but he answered nonetheless.

"If you must know, it's Chrissie."

"Of course." She smiled although she attempted to conceal it upon noting his angered face.

"What?"

"Nothing." She faked a clueless reaction. "It just doesn't surprise me, that's all."

"Why?" Screwing his face up irritably, he pulled his tie off and popped another two buttons open on his shirt, mimicking her positioning as he leant against the tightly sealed doors of the lift directly opposite her. "I am capable of having serious relationships you know? Not that I should have to defend myself, there's nothing wrong with sleeping around, you of all people should know that."

"Wow, the claws are coming out, aren't they Mr Strachan?" She smirked slightly at his defensive response partnered with his small dig at her number of sexual conquests. "I was actually referring to Ms Williams. Always after something she can't have, hence my lack of surprise that she's got her teeth into you."

"Not to objectify myself, but she already _has _me-"

"No, she doesn't." Her mouth curled into a devilish smile, causing him even more frustration to go along with this instense hot box they were trapped in. "She doesn't want a few nights of passion, Sam. I mean, come on." She scoffed lightly. "Wake up."

"Oh really? And what would you know about any of this?"

"I know enough about Chrissie Williams to tell you you're not her type."

"That's where you're wrong." He retorted with a look of fury in his eyes. "And besides, what has any of this got to do with you?"

"She wants what she's never been able to get, and when she has managed to get it, she can't keep hold of it. Michael being one of them." She watched his face drop before continuing. "Oh, sorry, hadn't she mentioned she'd bedded my husband?" She rested her left palm on her chest lightly, faking a look of sincerity despite knowing exactly what she'd just done. "That's how Chrissie is wired. She goes after things that she knows she can't have. You see, Michael and I had an open marriage. We slept with whoever we wanted on the condition that we never discussed who we had sex with. So you can only imagine her heartbreak when he explained this to her, she was like a child who couldn't have all the toys she wanted. And as you go back through her partner history, you'll see the recurring pattern."

"So?" He bit back, attempting to justify her actions with more bad examples. "From what I've heard, you've had your fair share of married men."

"Indeed." She smiled wickedly. "But it's always just sex, I don't picture a big white wedding and the patter of tiny feet in the hours following sex. I get what I want from them and I move on. It's as simple as that."

"A wedding and kids, that's not what Chrissie wants-"

"Isn't it?" She questioned cruelly, purely entertaining this conversation out of utter boredom. "What, so she strikes you as the type of woman who just sleeps around? You don't think she's imagining a future for you both? You've seen the way she is with babies on the ward, she's lost one of her own already. She's practically pining for a life-partner." She paused to watch his face writhe with all these thoughts. "Is that you? Hm? A husband and Father?"

"No." He whispered with a small laugh. "No, you've got this all wrong."

"If you say so." Smiling once more she glanced down with a raised brow. "It's just, I'd hate to see a wild animal caged like that."

"Yeah, well, that's you. Not me." He sighed loudly, wiping more sweat from his face before undoing the last of his buttons so that his shirt was fully opened at the front. "Perhaps I want to settle down and have kids soon, before it's too late like it is for some of the consultants around here." He shot her a cold look, his sentence was intended to hurt her but in actual fact it only made her smirk.

"Come on, Sam." She coaxed. "Dig a little deeper, you've got better low-blows than that." Her voice was like caramel, soothing and warm yet the words were calculated and cold in nature. Watching him squirm was highly amusing to say the least and if she was trapped in here with only him for company, then why not take advantage of the situation? She decided to let him have a few minutes of silence, her words echoing around in his head loudly despite his best efforts to appear unaffected by her hard-hitting truths. He felt claustrophobic as it was in this heated elevator without the metaphorical sense of marital captivity as well, and he was starting to panic. What if she was right? A serious relationship to him meant one that lasted longer than two weeks, he wasn't ready for marriage or children.

"How long does it take to fix a bloody lift?" He shouted out of nowhere, finally shrugging out of his sweat-soaked shirt and turning his back on her to slam the shit out of the 'Help' button again as he dropped the white item of clothing. Initially, he was taking the heat far worse than she was but it'd been over an hour and she was starting to feel the effects quite uncomfortably too now. Rolling her sleeves up, she undid the first few of her shirt buttons whilst fanning her face briefly. The results were minimal, forcing her to pop the rest of the buttons and shimmy out of her damp clothing too after a few minutes of suffering before it became unbearable. A cool sensation offered her a small amount of relief as she leant back on the cold wall again. The tacky skin on her back sticking to it slightly. Her feet were killing her too in her sky high heels, so she used her hands to rest on the railing either side of her body to alleviate the pressure. Her eyes returned to his sweat-beaded back glowing under the fluorescent lighting of the lift as he tried one last time to press the button. Still no response. She smiled once more as he pounded the door with his fist whilst turning back around to face her. He immediately avoided the topless sight of her he was presented with, quickly looking down to his feet with embarrassment and shock. Her skin looked nearly luminescent under the struggling light bulbs, her skirt nipping in her toned waist flatteringly and her black and red laced bra only just holding her breasts in the cups. She looked magnificent. "Sorry, I, uh, I didn't know you'd-"

"It's alright." She breathed mischievously. "You can look, I'm not stopping you." Her words were slightly panted, the air around them was so warm it felt as though they were inhaling hot sauna air. Their bodies struggling to function at full capacity in their current surroundings. He hesitated for a moment, battling his inner demons but for the life of him he couldn't _not _have another look. It was just too tempting. The sweat from his brow was now running down into the corners of his eyes, his dark brown hair sticking to his forehead like he'd just been swimming. As soon as he started to glance back up she covered herself modestly with her arms. "On second thought, perhaps you shouldn't." She teased cruelly. "On account of you being in a _serious _relationship, you know, I wouldn't want to maintain the reputation of being the hospital home-wrecker, as you'd implied."

"I'm a grown man, I can handle myself." He tensed his jaw, feeling bitter towards her teasing nature. "You don't think I can resist temptation?"

"I don't know." She grinned, her glossed lips only emphasising her pearly white smile. "Can you?" She dropped her arms again and pushed herself away from the wall to step closer to him. Her ample chest immediately pulled his eyes from hers. He blinked rapidly to hide the fact, but she'd clocked his straying gaze.

"What is this?" He asked irritably, still avoiding looking her way as he wiped yet more sweat from his brow.

"What's what?" She continued moving closer to him, only stopping when she was perhaps less than ten centimetres away from his syrupy, sweat coated body. Both of them were breathing in a more laboured fashion due to the heat situation but the sexual tension wasn't helping either of them. He didn't respond, he merely glanced at her face, breathing as steadily as he could before allowing his eyes to travel down to her collarbones, then her decolletage and slowly down to her perfectly rounded breasts before flickering to her tight abdomen. He could have sworn his mouth watered. Quickly returning his gaze to her eyes he could see a challenging look in them, it was unnerving but simultaneously exciting him. He couldn't distinguish whether it was a mixture of the heat and their close proximity that was turning him on so much, or whether it was his dominant and authoritative superior flaunting herself in front of him. She stepped closer again, causing him to step back unsurely. Now it was her turn to admire every inch before her, and that she did. Surveying his physique, she let her eyes roam over his nicely-built arms, to his pecks decorated with dark hair and down to his belted trousers as they clung to his hips. The hair on the front of his body was slick with sweat, she could physically see it trickling down his skin. For a moment she thought she could feel it, only to realise she was also sweating just as much. Her eyes moved back to his again, but he was back to observing her body too. She was like a magnet, pulling him to her against his will. Slowly reaching his hand out, he was headed straight for her waist but her whispered voice stopped him mid-movement. "I thought you said you could resist temptation?"

"I can." He breathed unsurely.

"I'm not so sure your body would agree, Mr Strachan." The sensually murmured words fell out of her lips erotically as she glanced down at his erection.

"Well, perhaps I don't want to resist this time."

"No, you really don't." She warned with a smile, practically stepping into his halted grip. "This is a one time offer."

"And I'm not refusing." His hand finally closed around the side of her waist, his lips so close to hers she couldn't help but open them slightly in anticipation before he whispered again. "What happens in here, stays in here."

"Of course." She smiled sensually into the kiss as their lips finally met. It was slow, deep and rough. His other hand was now on her waist too as her own palms found their way to his muscular sides. They were gliding over one another so easily, the tackiness of their bodies only heightening the level of sexual excitement. He increased the firmness of his grip on her waist as he turned her around, backing her up against the side of the lift slowly. She gasped into the kiss upon feeling the cold wall against her back once more. Anyone would think them crazy for a number of reasons, two being that firstly they were at work and secondly, having sex whilst already over-heating was probably not the most sensible decision. Regardless, they continued and pleasured one another on a divine scale before collapsing in a heap against the lift wall. They were both panting erratically, a sense of satisfaction lingering over them both as they remained quiet whilst attempting to regain their regular breathing patterns. She turned to face him upon hearing his belt buckle jangle as he redid it after pulling his zipper closed. Her eyes were lazy with lust, her tongue licking at her upper lip briefly as she watched him.

"I hope I'm right in thinking you'll keep this little indiscretion to yourself?" He spoke in a stilted fashion, still reining in his spent body.

"Don't worry, you have _my_ word." She smiled in a villainous manner, a look of self-satisfaction shining through her features.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He laughed nervously before turning a little more serious with concern.

"Well, I can assure you I'm hardly likely to go about and spread the gossip but uh, I'm not so sure about the guys on security." The latter of her sentence was whispered coldly in his ear before glancing up to the corner of the lift. And there it was. The all-seeing eye. A security camera pointed right at them.

"Oh no, no, no." He gasped loudly as he got to his feet to get a better look at the camera. "You have got to be kidding me-" He turned to face her angrily as she stood, pulling her skirt back down without a care in the world. "You knew about this and you didn't say anything?!"

"Mr Strachan." She cooed with a twisted smile. "You should know better, you're a grown man. You can handle yourself, remember?" Reiterating his own words back to him she licked her lips before glancing at his bitten neck. "You, uh, might want to cover that up. You wouldn't want Chrissie getting the wrong idea now, would you?" The last of her sentence was interrupted by the intercom talking loudly.

"Connie? Connie are you in there? It's Elliot." There was silence as she walked backwards to the button and answered him calmly, watching Sam all the while.

"Yes, Elliot, we're in here."

"_We_? Whose _we?"_

"Mr Strachan and myself." She smirked. "If you could hurry things along, it's getting a little _hot_ in here."

"Not to worry, we'll get you out as soon as we can. How are you both doing?"

"Oh, you know us." She teased. "We're moments away from tearing one another's clothes off in here." She couldn't stifle her own smile as she threw her shirt back on delicately.

"Ha-ha, very funny." The older man muttered back embarrassedly through the speaker. "Just stand back, we're about to wrench the doors open now." She never took her eyes off of Sam's, studying him as he fastened his own shirt aggressively. Surely enough, the doors cranked open slowly, a gust of cool air pouring in through the crack and hitting their hot and tacky bodies.

"I'll see you in theatre, Mr Strachan." Not uttering another word, she exited the now fully opened doors and weaved through the crowd of staff and patients littering the corridor, leaving him stood speechlessly on the spot.

What in heaven's name had just happened?


	3. Lapse

**Lapse**

"Hey Gracie!" He grinned widely, holding his small daughter up before clutching her close to his chest. "I've missed you." Cooing sweetly to her, he was oblivious to Connie's stare. "Look at you, you've grown so much." He held her little arm out as if mentally trying to measure it. She had the cutest head of curls and the most perfect rounded cheeks as she stared at him innocently. "I can't believe how big you are now." He continued to marvel at his seven month old child as Connie watched on. "How has she been?"

"She's fine, she's doing well."

"Sitting? Crawling?"

"Maybe we should get inside first, it's freezing and she hasn't got her hat on-"

"I was thinking maybe I could have her this weekend, if you have no plans of course." He gushed excitedly, normally she'd be irritated with such little breathing room but she and Grace had just returned from Germany after over two months of being away and Sam had obviously missed her. By the looks of it, Gracie had missed her dad too. Regardless, she continued pushing the empty pram towards the hospital entrance as Sam carried Grace along side her.

The wind was cruel today, bitingly icy on the ears and fingers. For some reason Grace protested heavily to wearing hats and would tear them off as soon as she was strapped into her pram or carseat. Luckily she would happily keep gloves on her little hands. Walking ahead, Sam grabbed the door for Connie and let her in before him.

"Thanks, look how about you see her later, I need to get her to the crêche-"

"The crêche? I'm free right now, I could take her for a bit? We won't go far, will we Gracie?"

"Sam." She interrupted abruptly but politely, attempting to stem his excitement before he got too carried away. Instead she had an alternative solution that suited her too. "How about after work, you can take her for a little while, hm?" Her offer was small but he would have been happy with a ten minute baby-sitting slot. "I have a stack of paperwork to get through and could do with her off my hands for a bit." She paused whilst rearranging the pram for Gracie to be put back in. "I still haven't organised a nanny back here yet."

"We'd love that." He cooed happily. "Wouldn't we, Gracie?" He bounced her lovingly, her little head bobbling as smiled at him. "Look at that neck strength, last time I saw her she couldn't even lift her head." He looked at Connie in bewilderment. His true colours as a father shining through immensely, he was one of those parents that celebrated every milestone by the looks of it. In fact, her brow furrowed for a millisecond at the brief thought that he was even close to tears over something so small.

"Great." She smiled as best she could, pulling the pram hood back as a discreet way of asking him to put her back in it.

"Oh right, of course." He gushed, bending down carefully to strap his teeny daughter into the seat. She protested for a few seconds but was soon silent again. "Well, I'll see you later then? Just text me when you need me to come get her."

"That's fine, I'll drop her at yours, you don't have a carseat yet. It'll be about six." She turned the pram, ready to head off down the opposite corridor as Sam began walking away backwards so he could keep marvelling at his daughter. "Oh and uh, nice hat by the way." She raised her brow, referring to the navy blue beanie he was sporting. "I'd lose it if I were you, it's not a great look." Smirking at his embarrassed smile she hooked her handbag over the stroller handles and set off walking at her usual quick pace.

"Actually, that's something I need to talk-"

"Later." She called out behind herself not turning to give him a second glance. "I'm already running behind schedule, sorry." Her words echoed down the long stretch of tiles beneath their feet as she turned and disappeared out of sight. The people milling around were oblivious to his thoughts as his hand dropped down by his side.

"-to you about." He finished his sentence under his breath pointlessly. He didn't know why he was worried about telling her, he wasn't sure if it was the potential for her to see his cancer and treatment as a risk, in terms of him being capable enough to look after Grace. What if he got light-headed and felt faint whilst holding her? What if he passed out, like he'd been doing regularly the last couple of weeks, during the time he was supposed to keeping an eye on her? These were all questions he was positive Connie would be asking straight away and although he worried about these possibilities himself, his primary concern was that he may be running out of time and he wanted to see Gracie as much as he possibly could to make up for not seeing her at all for the last eight weeks.

"You gonna stand there all day, Strachan? Or are you actually gonna do some work this morning?" The thick American accent belonging to Michael Spence appeared from nowhere, he had a habit of surprising Sam of late. Catching him off-guard during his long and thought-filled window staring sessions. He'd normally seek somewhere more private to do it but he'd drifted off into one of them now. "I see your baby mama is back, you guys have a nice catch-up?" He slapped his upper arm in a friendly manner. "How'd she take the cancer news?" His questions were un-filtered and straight to the point, there was no dancing around the topic with him and that was one of the things Sam appreciated so much, however annoying this plastic surgeon was at least there was no pitying stares or soft arm rubs and _how are you feeling _conversations.

"I haven't told her yet." He offered the fellow surgeon a sideways glance. His pale and sickly face appearing even more worn out under the bright fluorescent lighting. "I'm waiting for the right time."

"And when is that supposed to be?" He pressed nonchalantly. "When you start shedding even more weight? I mean, you already look like Uncle Fester with the ghostly skin and enormous eye-bags, I think she's gonna start noticing these things soon-"

"Tonight, alright? I'm taking Grace for a few hours." He interrupted in an antsy manner before pausing with a clenched jaw. "I'll tell her then."

"Well, I hope it goes as well as it can, given the topic." He straightened his extravagant purple tie with one hand whilst the other slapped Sam's upper arm again as he began walking away. "Oh yeah, when you do speak to Beauchamp again, try and find out if there's a man on the scene would you?" He smirked with a raised brow.

"Nice try, mate." He let a genuine chuckle escape his lips. "She's still not interested in you." This guy was relentless in his attempts to bed Connie. "After all, you're no Sam Strachan." He raised his arms out to the side like an exaggerated shrug.

"Please." Michael scoffed loudly and stopped beside the elevator, smashing the button impatiently as he uttered his crude repsonse. "She was only with you for the perfect child, she'd be with me for the perfect fu-"

"Michael." The lift doors opened to reveal an angered Ric Griffin, his voice booming with frustration. "What the hell are you playing at?" He stepped out of the lift to stand opposite the unbothered American. "You've kept me and the board waiting for almost fifteen minutes now, do you have any idea how this looks?"

"Chill, Ric. I can see the vein in your neck pulsing. We'll just tell them I was dealing with an emergency, it's fine." He gave Sam an eyebrow wiggle before shrugging at Ric nonchalantly and stepping into the lift with Mr Griffin entering after him, shaking his head furiously. Sam couldn't help but shake his head too, not at his tardiness but at the sheer arrogance he exuded. Although likeable in some aspects, he possessed traits that Sam found quite unfavourable too, such as discussing the mother of his child in such a way. For some reason, it just struck a chord with him.

* * *

"No." She smiled down the phone, sat at her desk after two longs months of being absent from it. "I've got it sorted, her father's looking after her tonight." There was a delicate silence in her office as she listened to the response on the other end of the call. "You'll just have to be patient then, won't you?" She breathed softly, a sultry smile on her lips until Elliot rumbled through the door like a mini tornado. "Uh, anyway, I'll call you back. Thank you." Quickly hanging up she sat her phone down on the desk top.

"There she is." He bellowed with a small grin. "Back on her throne." She stood to greet him as they exchanged a small but comfortable hug.

"Glad to see you've kept things running smoothly, I hope you're not eyeing up my job?" Pulling away from the embrace, she rubbed his upper arm sweetly. He hadn't changed a fraction, unlike herself. Her hair had grown, now shoulder length, softly waved and framing her face delicately.

"Oh definitely not!" He chuckled, settling himself behind his own desk. "If I'm being honest, I've been counting down the days until your return."

"I don't believe that for a second, you just hate paperwork." She smiled, placing her hands in her grey trouser pockets as she started to make her way to the door.

"Wait, you're not rushing out on to the ward already are you? You've only just got back." His fluffy grey brows pulled together above his glasses frame. He knew she wasn't the sentimental, squishy type like he was but he at least expected a good chat after eight weeks of not seeing her.

"Well, you know what they say, Ellie. There's no rest for the wicked."

"Have you managed to speak to Mr Strach-"

"Of course I have." She sighed. "I hadn't even stepped out of my car and he was behind me, listing off a thousand questions." She exhaled tiredly as Elliot felt his body deflate sympathetically for Sam and his situation that she was obviously unaware of.

"Perhaps you should take-"

"Can this wait? Sorry, I've got a million and one things to get done today without trying to make sure Sam gets his fair share of Grace." She brushed him off quickly, her mind already running through the tasks she had to get done. "I've already agreed to let him see her tonight whilst I catch up on some paperwork, we'll discuss weekly visits then."

"Well that's great." He smiled, his heart warming for Sam. "I'm just saying, perhaps you should take it easy on him, he's not been having the easiest of times since you left-" The words he was speaking trailed off as he studied her, she'd received a text message and was now far too preoccupied with reading it's contents and smiling devilishly to herself. Completely ignoring everything he was saying. He continued to watch her sadly, wondering how exactly she'd take the news when Sam told her. Her voice suddenly startled him from his dark thoughts as she shoved her phone back in her pocket.

"I'll speak to you later, we'll catch up properly at the end of the day, alright?" She was flushed in the cheeks and trying her best to wipe the seductive smile off of her face whilst she spoke to him, oblivious to his previous sentence.

"Yes, of course. I'll talk to you later." Talking quietly, he fell back into his worries as soon as the door closed behind her.

* * *

"You can't keep it from her, Sam."

"Look, I didn't say I wasn't going to tell her." He snapped abrasively but quickly let his head drop with regret. "Sorry, Chrissie, I know you're just trying to help but I am _tired _of everyone talking at me." He locked eyes with her, the white room enhancing his sickly appearance. He'd removed his hat now, his bald head out on show as they sat in the clinic. He'd been put on lighter duties and had been banished to this area of the hospital with the occasional visit from Chrissie on her breaks. Don't get him wrong, he was happy for her support and care but sometimes the nurse in her would take over and he found it hard to handle being treated like a patient whilst on duty. "I will tell her, but I just want to spend some time with Gracie first."

"You think your diagnosis will spook Connie?" She asked worriedly. "And you're concerned she won't let you look after Grace alone." Hitting the nail right on the head, he glanced at her defeatedly but still managed to smile.

"Am I really that transparent?"

"You're almost pale enough to be transparent." She joked, pulling smiles from both of them before she turned serious again. "Don't underestimate her, you never know, she might surprise you." Her head tilted whilst she carried on gazing at him.

"What, she'll feel so bad for me that I'll have unlimited access to Grace." He scoffed with a shake of his head. "No, she's not wired like that."

"How do you know? Are you a mother?" Her stark question caught him off-guard.

"Well, I'm a father-"

"That's not the same, it's just as powerful of course but being a mother is completely different. If I was her and my daughter's father was extremely unwell I'd only have my daughter on my mind. You being unwell directly affects Grace. She's only what, six months old-"

"Seven." He corrected with a smile, still in shock that his baby girl was almost a year old.

"Right, seven months old and she adores you so much already. I couldn't see my child lose that, and I don't think Connie could either." She pressed her lips together upon approaching the sensitive topic of him possibly not making it through this battle.

"I'm going to tell her." He reaffirmed. "But in my own time and when I'm ready." There was a small silence following the gloomy conversation before Sam found it in himself to crack a wise comment. "Besides, when did you become such a supporter of Connie?"

"I admit, we've haven't always seen eye-to-eye but our differences have always been about men and if it wasn't for your kind I think we could have been friendly with one another."

"It's always our fault, isn't it?" He smiled with a small laugh. "Well, if you're quite finished hating on men, I need to get back to this before they say I'm too incompetent to do paperwork as well."

"Don't be daft." She gave his hand a rub before walking away, her ponytail swinging behind her. "Please, consider telling her tonight though, it might work in your favour." Offering him a sympathetic look, he winced at the feel of it. That was the behaviour he was struggling to cope with. He knew his cancer was serious and he had to start thinking about the _what ifs _soon enough but for now he just wanted to see Grace.

* * *

Her first day back went quickly, her return was gladly received by most with the exception of a few small enemies of hers. Things had changed a lot though and she was not favourable of them. She was driving to Sam's and her brain was already ticking over with ways she could return her ward to how it was before she left for Germany. Looking in her rearview mirror, she glanced at a sleeping Grace in her carseat, she was out for the count as soon as she'd strapped her in. Although apprehensive about leaving her with Sam this evening, she trusted him completely. Seeing Grace's face light up as he'd held her made her heart flutter. Nobody apart from herself got that reaction from the small baby and she wanted her to have a father in her life. She'd tried to find him before leaving but had no such luck, in fact she hadn't seen him all day, another change she was unhappy about. Why on Earth would they have a person such as Sam on clinic duties all day? it made no sense other than the extremely likely possibility that he'd pissed off her stand-in replacement whilst she was gone and he'd placed him in there as a punishment. Watching the street numbers as she drove in the dark, she slowed down as she started to approach his house and pulled into the driveway slowly. He was at the door within seconds of her getting out and opening Grace's door to take her out delicately.

"Here, I can grab that." He spoke into the cold air behind her as he motioned to the baby bag in her grasp. In the days leading up to her departure for Europe, they'd been getting on remarkably well and so far it seemed to be carrying over into her return as well. He just prayed it stayed that way.

"Thanks." Handing it to him gently she returned her attention back to Grace, unstrapping her carefully before pulling her out and resting her against her chest. Her small head falling to rest softly on Connie's shoulder as she remained fast asleep. Sam couldn't help but feel his heart swell as he admired her. She was so tiny and delicate, her small curls matched Connie's waves as they mingled together slightly in the wind. He stepped back a bit to let Connie close the car door quietly and press her central locking button. "I'll help you take her in and leave you to it." She spoke softly, pulling Grace's little white cardigan down over her back as it had ridden up in her seat. Her little sock covered feet dangling against Connie's black shirt.

"Yeah, of course." He motioned for her to go ahead and he followed them inside, closing his front door quickly behind them to keep the heat in.

"Sorry, I didn't expect her to fall asleep so quickly." She glanced at him briefly as she wiped her feet on the long mat, his head still covered with a beanie.

"She must be wiped out, I can put her upstairs if you like?" He moved in to take her, half expecting Connie to decline and offer to do it herself but to his surprise she leant towards him and handed her over gently. She stirred for a few seconds in the handover but Connie seemed to have the motherly touch and easily soothed her back to sleep with a few cooing shushes as soon as she was in Sam's grasp. "I won't be a minute." He whispered, cautious not to wake her before he headed for the stairs. He could sense she wanted to speak to him about Grace and her routine so quickly lay her in her cot, switched her monitor on and headed back downstairs again. She remained stood in the same spot, almost as if she was too afraid to move about in his home. "Do you want a tea or coffee before you go?" He offered politely as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh, no, thank you but I really need to head off." She looked down. "I just have instructions to run through with you before I go." She held up a small piece of paper, it was so typically Connie. Organised and prepared with instructions for him. "I know, I know." She interrupted his thoughts, which were obviously evident on his face. "It's a bit excessive but some of it will be news to you, I just want you to be aware."

"No, no that's fine." He held his arm out, pointing her towards the kitchen as he followed behind her. "You're sure I can't offer you a drink?"

"I'm sure, thank you." She watched him start filling the kettle at the sink as she unfolded her instructions and set them on his table for him. "She'll probably wake up in an hour or two and want feeding, I've put the formula in her bag but she's got an intolerance to lactose we've recently discovered. That's all this is, just a reminder that she can have light, soft snacks but nothing dairy and only the formula I've packed."

"Oh right, of course, I'll read through it in a moment, thanks." He moved towards her and grabbed the note before sticking it to his fridge with a magnet. "That must have caused you some grief?"

"Yes, a few weeks of not knowing what was going on with her but she's right as rain now." She smiled, a blanket of silence falling over them with the exception of the kettle starting to heat and boil on the other side of the room. She quickly glanced down and grabbed her keys as he started to feel the prickly heat brewing under his hat in the warmth of the house, snatching his beanie off he gave his smooth head a rub. "Right, well I'll get out of your hair then-" Finally looking back up at him she was stunned for a second. "Or lack of, should I say." Her eyes widened at the horrific new look. "I see why the hat was necessary now, as awful as it is perhaps you should keep it on."

"Ah, yes." He tried to force a laugh but he could feel his stomach knotting and his chest tightening with the words rising up his throat quickly, he didn't want to say it but he feared he'd lose it and his emotions would get the best of him otherwise. A nasty case of word vomit overcoming him and incredibly quickly at that. "Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about this-"

"You lost a bet and agreed to shave your head?" She smiled, an innocent joke intended to ease the tension between them but it did nothing to cushion the blow she was about to receive.

"I've got cancer."


End file.
